Australia – Qualifications: Q3 goes awry, Hamilton on pole!

Finally! After several months of waiting, the qualifying session for the Australian Grand Prix was about to provide a first indication of the hierarchy for the 2016 season. Would Ferrari be able to challenge Mercedes? That was indeed the central question of the qualification. The other attraction was, of course, the new qualifying system, with its elimination every 90 seconds. Would teams struggle? Would there be surprises? The session held many unknowns…

First #Quali session of 2016 coming soon

0600 UK
0700 CET
1700 Local

Here’s another look at the new format#AusGP pic.twitter.com/nud28oi32b

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 mars 2016

From the very first moments, we witness an initial change: a line of drivers queues up to exit at the start of the clock. The Mercedes cars, for once, are already in the lead. Right away, the drivers are using the ultra-soft tires, the fastest range brought by Pirelli. All the drivers are on track except for Valtteri Bottas. During the installation lap, Lewis Hamilton finds himself stuck behind Romain Grosjean and has to slow down to give himself enough space.

Nico Rosberg sets off for his first lap… and goes into the grass at the first corner! The pressure, after his accident the day before, already seems to be affecting him. Romain Grosjean goes slightly onto the grass and allows Lewis Hamilton to catch up. The Frenchman slightly hindered the Englishman; let’s hope there is no penalty.

All the drivers have set fast laps to avoid being the first eliminated. The lower-ranked ones, including Nico Rosberg, are starting a second flying lap. The Toro Rossos, particularly fast, as well as the Ferraris, seem safe. Lewis Hamilton sets a 1:25:351 and can also remain calm.

The first driver eliminated in the history of this new system is unsurprisingly a Manor, but more surprisingly… Pascal Wehrlein. Rio Haryanto follows 90 seconds later. The axe falls gradually: it’s the turn of the Haas cars to be eliminated. The two drivers from the American team misjudged the available time to complete another lap. The joys of starting out in F1… Yet, the Haas cars had shown potential, perhaps enough to reach Q2.

The first surprise is the elimination of Daniil Kvyat. What a shame, as the Austrian car seemed promising… Major teams like Red Bull are also getting caught in the Q1 trap. The new format will surely bring exciting comebacks on the track nonetheless… Felipe Nasr, also relaunched at the wrong time by Sauber, has to return to the pits. There will be work to do for the engineers, as many of them seemed overwhelmed! Note that the last driver who can be eliminated from Q1 is allowed to finish his lap at the wire, unlike the other drivers… The complicated rule is well understood by Renault, which sends Jolyon Palmer out for one last flying lap. And he makes it through! Marcus Ericsson, also sent back on track, is consequently knocked out.

During this Q1, Lewis Hamilton easily dominated, but the Ferraris did not give it their all. Noteworthy is the strong performance of the McLarens in the top 10.

Drivers eliminated in Q1: Haryanto, Wehrlein, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Kvyat, Nasr, Ericsson.

🏁 ELIMINATED (END OF Q1) 🏁

22 WEH
21 HAR
20 GUT
19 GRO
18 KVY
17 NAS
16 ERI#AusGP #F1IsBack #Quali pic.twitter.com/rhuRCWyblc

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 mars 2016

At the start of Q2, Renault opts for an unusual strategy and sends its drivers out on track with already used super soft tires, as if the French team is already conserving its tires for the race. It’s worth noting that with only eight drivers qualified for Q1, the Yellows have little chance of advancing further this Saturday. The Ferraris are experiencing some difficulties in warming up their super soft tires and are more than a second behind the Mercedes after their first attempt.

The first to be eliminated from Q2 is, unsurprisingly, a Renault, that of Kevin Magnussen. Jolyon Palmer follows shortly after. The Renaults, which will start 14th and 15th, at least preserved a set of tires for the race. Jenson Button chooses not to go back out and will therefore start from the 13th position: last year, it was much worse. Threatened despite the very good form of his Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz puts on soft tires again, goes out on time, and secures 4th place. Indeed, this Toro Rosso is impressive…

12th, Fernando Alonso lowers his arms and is therefore eliminated from the session. The big disappointment is for Valtteri Bottas. The Finn made a slight mistake in the penultimate corner and will start 11th. However, the Williams did not show an alarming potential during the session… The Force Indias, who made it to Q3 last year thanks to the old regulations, also stop: Perez is 9th, Hülkenberg 10th, without attempting a final attack.

Eliminated in Q2: Bottas, Alonso, Button, Palmer, Magnussen.

🏁 ELIMINATED (END OF Q2) 🏁

15 MAG
14 PAL
13 BUT
12 ALO
11 BOT
10 HUL
09 PER#AusGP #F1IsBack #Quali pic.twitter.com/wnFrk2YoKr

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 mars 2016

The club of eight launches into the last fourteen minutes of the session. They must quickly get on track because the first eliminated was out after only six minutes of Q3. Would Nico Rosberg handle the pressure well? Would the Ferraris finally come out of hiding? Felipe Massa is the last driver to start. It’s only 23°C on the track, so the drivers are struggling to warm up their super soft tires.

This time, Nico Rosberg does not miss the first corner. Let us recall that the error is unforgivable, as it would mean not having the time to complete a second lap before the first elimination… At the end of the first timed lap, Nico Rosberg, who may not have warmed up his tires properly or who lacks confidence, is easily overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and even Kimi Räikkönen. The Englishman leads the German by half a second with a stellar time of 1:24:133.

The first elimination is for the local of the event: Daniel Ricciardo, knocked out by Carlos Sainz by barely a tenth. As expected, the little Toro Rosso cars claimed the scalp of their big sister… The 2015 Ferrari V6 seems to have made the difference compared to the 2016 Renault V6, but the Red Bulls should recover during the long stints tomorrow.

On his second flying lap, Nico Rosberg makes another small mistake at the chicane in the second sector and loses time again. It’s starting to add up for the German… Carlos Sainz also makes a small error and becomes the second to be eliminated; he will start 7th on Sunday.

Seven minutes remain when Lewis Hamilton decides to return to the track. Minimum risk taken by Mercedes. Meanwhile, the teams remain in the pits, including Felipe Massa who is eliminated and will start 6th on Sunday. Confusion seems to take over the pits: it’s already over for the Ferraris even though there were still 5 minutes left in the session! Indeed, there are many mishaps this Saturday… Max Verstappen also steps out of the car… The end of Q3 turns into a melodrama.

At the same time, only the two Mercedes cars remain on track. The duel begins. Lewis Hamilton puts everyone in agreement with a 1:23:837, three and a half tenths faster than Nico Rosberg. The Englishman clinches his 50th pole position and asserts himself right at the start of the season! But this end of Q3 clearly left us wanting more. The Ferrari drivers didn’t even try for a second flying lap… Hamilton will start on pole ahead of Rosberg. Vettel is 3rd, eight tenths behind Hamilton. Räikkönen secures the second spot for Ferrari. Verstappen is 5th, Massa 6th, Sainz 7th, Ricciardo 8th.

BREAKING: @LewisHamilton claims the 50th pole of his career at the #AusGP. Rosberg second ahead of Vettel #F1IsBack pic.twitter.com/fUWOImSi1Z

— Formula 1 (@F1) 19 mars 2016

Manor, Haas, and Red Bull engineers will need to work on this new system in particular. The new system has also confused most drivers, like Wehrlein or Grosjean, who said he hated it on Canal+ about this innovation. The suspense was not the most thrilling either: the name of the eliminated driver was often known a good minute in advance. Several teams that knew they were eliminated did not make a last desperate lap. Finally, in Q3, the suspense collapsed with Mercedes alone on the track to finish the session. But let’s bet that this system will gain momentum in the future… At least, we hope so.